


Crashing Fates

by HumbleShipper



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Hair Brushing, I don't know how to tag this, Lotor crashes on earth, Lotor is the lion king, Lotor's point of view, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, PTSD episodes, Reader gets bullied, Reader has PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Red String of Fate, Soulmates, Strangers to Lovers, and a brother, and has a farm, can you find them all?, curse words, if thats how you even describe this, in the middle of the desert, its not hard at all its way too obvious, maybe a bit too self insert, probably, reader is above 20, reader is retired military, reader owns many animals, too many video game/movie references
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-09-22 20:15:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17066369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HumbleShipper/pseuds/HumbleShipper
Summary: After narrowly escaping his father, Lotor crash lands on an uncharted planet with almost no hope of survival until a certain human come to his rescue.Set during the time when Lotor is running from Zarkon just after he flew into the sun and before he joins Voltron.A Lotor x Reader I've wanted to make for a while. A soul mate red string of fate au that I needed. Told from Lotor's point of view in first person present tense (and its driving me nuts I'm sure I've used past tense at least once or twice without meaning to and haven't caught it).Title is placeholder, but I might keep it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Am I posting this after season 8 when Voltron is dying? Yes, yes I am.
> 
> Why you ask? Because Lotor deserved better.

_BRWAAAAAA_

_I can’t keep this up! I need to land!_

_BRWAAAAAAA_

_There! That planet!_

I steady my crashing ship as best as I can as I enter the atmosphere of this uncharted planet. There’s no telling what it will have in regards to its inhabitants, but hopefully they will either be incompetent beasts, or non hostile intelligent life. My ship finds its way to the ground with alarming speed and I brace for impact as it makes contact. I’m nearly thrown completely out of it before it comes to a skidding halt. I take a moment to recollect myself and steady my breathing, thank the ancients no one else was here to see this.

The alarms that my ship had been blaring at me before have finally calmed down, though the reason they were screaming is something I need to fix before I can leave. Looking over the damage reports makes my stomach sink, something did quite the number on my ship. Depending on the resources found on this planet, it could take months before I can even attempt to return to empty void of space.

_Perhaps it won’t be so bad, this planet is off the Galra radars and out of their territory, I could be safe here. At least for a while. I should scan the planet before leaving the safety of the ship._

Without hesitation, I press a few buttons and pull up the scanner. The range is enough to scan about a third of the planet, maybe slightly less, and the life here is thriving. However, in my immediate area, there doesn’t seem to be much around. From what I can see outside, it looks barren, almost as if it were a waste land. If it weren’t for my scanner showing there was life beyond this, I would have thought it to be a dead planet. Thankfully, the air is breathable, so I cautiously exit into the wreckage of my ship.

It’s a lot darker than I expected, and it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust, but eventually I can see clearly. I move to inspect the damages for myself, looking over every inch of what I can see from the ground. It is just as I suspected, something had gotten into the left jet and tore some wires to make it completely lose power. Then there was a minor explosion that occurred just before I found the planet. Whatever caused the problem appears to be gone, but the damages are still there, and I’m still stranded on an unknown planet. “This was to be indestructible, I guess I found your weakness and my mistake.”

Taking a deep breath and settling my emotions, I return to the cockpit and sit down. The weight of my lack of sleep is starting to take hold, and the next thing I know I’m waking up to a voice. I can’t make out what it was saying, but after I realize that it was indeed a voice, I jolt awake and look at my radar.

There is a life form circling my ship, and there is no way to tell if it has hostile intentions. It is near the back currently, this is my chance to ambush instead of getting ambushed myself. I grab my sword and jump out of the cockpit, startling the creature as it falls over on it’s behind with a shriek.

It looks like a (s/c) version of me, however there are many differences. It’s hair is a (h/c) and it’s ears are rounded. It’s eyes are also a (e/c) instead of yellow. It looks feminine, but there is no guarantee with an alien species.

I point my sword towards it, still not trusting that it isn’t dangerous, no matter how frightened it looks. It isn’t until it speaks that I start to relax slightly. “P-please! I mean you no harm!”

The scared statement feels sincere, thank the ancients I can understand, so I straighten my battle stance, however I do not lower my sword. “Who are you? What planet is this?”

“Uh..I-I’m (Y/n). And this is Earth.” The creature says, not daring to stand from its current position on the floor. A smart move.

I look over this creature carefully. There’s nothing threatening on it in the slightest. No claws or weapons; it’s teeth are even dull. It doesn’t seem to have something to ward off predators either, at least that I can see. “What are you?”

“I’m a human. Or I guess you could also say earthling...but then every creature here would be an earthling.”

“What is your business with me?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” The human seems to relax some and sit up with its legs crossed. “I’m curious, I’ve never seen an alien before.”

No wonder this planet is unheard of, no one has been here. “Have you really never met someone from another planet before? Or gone to other planets to see the life there?”

“There’s more out there?!” (Y/n)’s voice becomes much higher pitched and it shoots to its feet in excitement, like it’s been waiting it’s whole life to hear that. Startled, I point my sword back at the human. It takes the hint with a timid step back.

“Of course there is. There’s thousands of races out there on thousands of planets. How have none found you?”

“Well they have before I’m sure! There’s lots of evidence that people have found, but everyone wrote it off as fiction and hoax! I knew there was life out there!” It starts dancing around in a triumphant circle before it snaps its attention back to me, making me raise my sword again. I hadn’t realized I’d lowered it in that short time. “What brings you to earth?! Did your ship crash? It looks like it did.”

The sudden excitement and questions throw me a little off guard, but I keep composure. “Yes. Something caused one of my engines to explode, and I have yet to figure out how to fix it.”

“Woah..” the human gets closer to my ship, having wide and curious eyes, it reaches out before stopping itself. “Can I touch it?”

“So long as you don’t damage it anymore.” I decide for now that this human is of no threat to me and I put my sword away.

With a slightly trembling hand, it reaches out again and touches the outer shell of my ship. It visibly shivers and feels over the surface before pulling its hand back. “Wow..so what are you? What’s your name, and where did you come from?”

It’s fascination is quite amusing, I’ve never had a creature be so curious of me before. “That’s a bit..complicated. I’m Prince Lotor of the galra empire, though I’m only half galra. Both of my race’s home planets were destroyed ten thousand years ago.”

The human has wide eyes as it listens, unable to keep a smile off its face. However it’s expression falls when the destruction of the planets is mentioned. “So..you don’t have a home?”

“Not necessarily. The galra live on ships or on planets we have conquered.”

“What about the other half of you?” It tilts its head with this question in a way that’s almost cute.

“They were wiped out with the destruction of their planet. Only a few remain.”

“Oh..I’m sorry.” That’s strange, what are they apologizing for? Is it sympathy?

“There’s no need for apologies, it has no affect on me. What about you? What is a human?”

“Oh, we’re pretty boring. Most of us just sit on technology all day...myself included. But I have a farm I take care of. Nowhere near as cool as being a prince! How come you’re out here all alone?”

I don’t feel comfortable with this question, the pain of the past however long spent in the emptiness of space running from my own father is not something I wish to discuss with a stranger. “I’m not going to answer that. Tell me, what resources can I find on this planet?”

The human is caught off guard by my turn around of questions, but it starts to think and rubs its chin with its hand. “Well there’s all kinds of metal and rock and dirt, coal and oil..I’m not sure what you need for your ship though.”

“The metal could work. Where can I get some?” I don’t want to waste anymore time with this human. While our conversation is pleasant, being that they aren’t scared or trying to kill me like most others would if they saw a galra, I have a goal. To get off this planet as soon as possible.

“Well there are some junkyards for scrap metal from broken ships, or you could just mine it yourself. Hell if I know where to do that though.” (Y/n) shrugs as it speaks, looking to me with expectant eyes for an answer.

“I’m assuming it’s night currently, so when the sun rises I’d like to go to one of the junkyards.” I don’t know if this creature will be willing to help me, but from how it’s been acting I have a shot.

“Okay! I can take you in my truck! That way if we find something you like we can take it back with us!” It’s response, regardless of my previous thoughts, surprises me.

“Why is it that you’re so willing and..excited to help me?”

“Oh...well you’re the first alien I’ve ever met. I’ve been waiting my whole life to see one, and you’re stranded in an unknown place. I’d want help too if I was in your position.”

I nod after a moment, it’s putting itself into my shoes. Good to know that humans were empathetic enough to assist those in need. “Well, I do appreciate the help. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to rest up for tomorrow.”

“Wait! Do you..well I don’t know what you sleep on..but do you want to stay in my guest room? It might be more comfy than...whatever is in there, then again I don’t know what you have in there..for all I know it could be some kind of five star hotel or something...”

The offer is surprising to say the least, and the human’s ranting is rather amusing. Anywhere sounds better than the pilot’s chair right now, but do I trust it enough..? I contemplate the idea for a moment, (Y/n) looking up at me with big and eager (e/c) eyes as it’s rant ends. I suppose I should start showing trust if this human is going to be assisting me, how else will it trust me? “Alright. If my ship will be safe here, then I will follow you.”

The human practically does a backflip in its excitement, it’s like I told it I was giving it enough currency to live a work free life. “Awesome! Come on, follow me! I’ll take you to my home.” It starts to run, but then skids to a halt as it probably realizes it should be calming down. “Sorry..”

“No worries.” I say, following after it easily with my longer legs. The human is much shorter than myself, so I can very easily catch up to it. “I can tell that you’re quite excited.”

“Yeah..I’m sorry it’s embarrassing sometimes..I have a bit of ADHD..” (Y/n) pokes its fingers together as it walks, as if this were something terrible for humans to have. Perhaps it is.

“What is that?”

“Oh! Uh..sorry, ADHD stands for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It's a mental disorder that basically means that without medication I can’t focus too well on one thing for a long period of time and get overly hyper. And my meds are wearing off a bit because I forgot to take them..”

A bit? If this is it being slightly off its medication, I’m not sure I want to see it without it at all. “Perhaps you should take it when we get to your home?”

“That might be a good idea..” the human then drops the subject as it falls silent, making a slightly awkward air around us. Thankfully, I begin to notice what could pass as shelter, multiple structures poking out of the horizon.

“Is that your home there?” I ask, pointing to the distant shapes.

“Yup! Home sweet home~ I can’t wait to introduce you to Oakley and Tyler and Brutus and- Uh..sorry. You’ll meet them all soon.”

“Are they other humans that live with you?” The names are weird to me, but they are aliens.

“Oh no no no, I live alone. They’re my pets!”

“I see.” I say with a single nod. So they have tamed animals, wonder what they’re like. Guess I’m about to find out.

We come up to the front door and (Y/n) opens it with the single turn of a handle. Their technology must not be advanced enough for automatic doors. (Y/n) gestures for me to step inside before it and I nod in a quick thank you before walking past it. I’m startled by a large black furry animal making a loud and repeating boom noise. It isn’t quite a boom, though, as it has a growl to it.

“Brutus! Stop!” (Y/n) runs over faster than light and holds the angry animal’s cheeks to silence it. The animal looks between the human and I before growling again. “Brutus, enough. This is Lotor, he’s a friend.” (Y/n) then turns to me with an apologetic look. “Sorry, he’s super protective. Doesn’t like strangers. This is Brutus! He’s my dog.”

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and relax my stiffened posture. A friend huh? “Pleasure to meet you.”

(Y/n) giggles at my greeting, sounding like gentle wind chimes. Odd. “He doesn’t speak English. Can’t really understand it either, animals aren’t smart enough for that.” It ruffles Brutus’ head while he keeps his eyes locked on me in an intense and untrusting stare.

This is going to be a long night.

(Y/n) carefully lets the dog go and he does nothing but stand by its side and continue to glare at me. At least it isn’t attacking, that’s one less worry for now. “Follow me, I’ll show you around. We’re in the living room right now..” (Y/n) continues her- I’ve settled on female for now since genders are confirmed a thing on his planet- tour of her home, pointing out a kitchen and bathroom on the first floor. She leads me up to the second floor and points out her bedroom and another room that she calls her “man cave.” I finally take the time to question her out loud about her gender and she confirms it to be female. Guess I was correct in the gender I assumed, though I’m still left to wonder why she called that room a man cave. “And this room right here is yours! It’s right across from mine, so if you ever need anything just knock or holler.”

“Thank you for the tour.” I say and bow to her, causing her to visibly tense up with embarrassment.

“O-oh it was nothing Uh..b-but I’m not done yet! There’s still one more thing I gotta show you.” (Y/n) walks to the end of the hall and opens a door that I hadn’t noticed earlier. It leads to a balcony that overlooks the whole wasteland. “This is my favorite place to be at night. Best view of the stars right in my own home.”

The stars are indeed beautiful from this point, I could get used to this if worse came to worst. I shouldn’t been thinking of that now, though, I have to remain at least slightly positive. “Thank you again for showing me around. I’m going to retire. I shall see you in the morning.”

(Y/n) nods and smiles at me. “You’re welcome! I’ll see you in the mornin.”

I return to my new room and take this chance to look around. The room is rather small compared to what I’m used to, but that was to be expected since she is not of royalty. The bed is what (Y/n) described as a queen sized bed, though looks more suitable for my younger self. I take my armor off for the first time in quite a while, sighing at the freedom. With one last look around, I climb into the bed and pull the covers over myself.

I fit surprisingly well, and the sheets are soft with a pleasant, flowery smell. There was, however, the hint of a old musky odor, as if it hasn’t been used in years, which is probably the case. The bed itself feels like it’s conforming to my body in a very comforting and relaxing way, and all my exhaustion finally takes over as I fall into a much needed deep sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Couldn't wait to post this so here it is! Lotor meets the animals of the house!
> 
> I wanted to post this for Christmas, but my internet sucks. Anyways Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

The sunlight is dimly shining in my room as I wake, and I can honestly say I haven’t felt this rested in quite some time. Sitting up and stretching, the events of last night come back in a flood and I heave a heavy sigh. Still alive so far, no injuries to report either besides the bumps and bruises from my ship’s crash. I have no idea what time of day it actually is. I notice there’s some sort of clock, I assume, on the bedside table, though I’m not sure what time 1:48 pm means. I pull myself out of the comfortable bed as I start to feel hot, the room’s temperature is considerably hotter since last night, and I can feel how sticky I’ve already become from sweating in my sleep.

I wander over to the built in wall wardrobe, at least I assume that’s what it is, and open it, sighing in relief when I’m met with clothes and not something else unpleasant. I sort through them and find that most are robes and jackets that hold the same dusty flower smell as the bed. While I don’t want to go out of this room indecent, I’d rather a robe be a last resort. Perhaps (Y/n) could help me if I couldn’t find anything.

Closing the wardrobe I move on to what could be a dresser and open it to find it’s just that. After sifting through the clothes I find that there’s nothing here that would really fit me. I debate just putting my armor back on for a moment, but I am lucky to come across a few shirts that are big enough for me, and a pair of soft, but old looking pants. The pants are a faded grey color with blotches of something red scattered about on them. I hope it’s not blood, and from the smell of it, it seems clean. The shirt is a plain white with pictures of what looks like the earth dogs and trees.

I slip the clothes on with ease and they fit almost perfectly, though the pants are only long enough to reach above my ankles. I’m at least decent enough now to seek out (Y/n) and discuss going to the junkyard she had mentioned. I stop before I have a chance to open the door when I realize my hair must be an absolute mess. It always was in the mornings. I don’t want to snoop about more than I already have, so I will have to ask the human if there is a hair brush I could use.

I check myself quickly in the mirror to confirm my suspicions. I look like a lion, as my generals always told me if they ever saw my hair this way. After they called me “lion king” I made sure to tame my mane before showing my face to them. Nostalgia trip over, I rub the bridge of my nose before leaving the room. No use dwelling on the past when the present is leaving you behind.

As I walk out into the hall, I’m met with another earth creature. This one is much smaller than the dog and is grey with a white underbelly, darker grey stripes littering it’s body. It looks quite cute, almost having the face of a galra. It stares up at me with almost questioning green eyes, like it’s deciding my fate before it’s ears perk up and it darts away down the stairs.

I’m left there dumbfounded before I hear the door downstairs open, and (Y/n)’s voice saying something presumably to the creature I just saw. I walk down the stairs to the first floor and see her holding it in her arms like a baby, the creature looking pleased with its eyes closed.

“Good morning.” I greet, startling the human and causing the animal to jump out of her arms in alarm.

“Jesus you scared me!” She says, steadying herself on a chair. “I forgot you were here.”

“My apologies, I didn't mean to scare you.” I walk over closer to her and she looks up with wide (e/c) eyes, scanning me over with intense curiosity. She seems to come to some realization and covers her mouth to stifle what sounds like the start of a laugh. I sigh, knowing exactly what she’s on about. “It’s my hair isn’t it?”

“I-I’m sorry!” She says and lets out her held in laughter. It sounds rather melodic, almost as if it’s some kind of song. Odd. “I don’t mean to laugh, b-but you look so different!”

“Yes..I don’t suppose you have a hair brush?” I’m surprisingly less annoyed than I should be with this human, perhaps it’s because I’m finally well rested for once.

“Yeah, I have plenty.” (Y/n) says, finally out of her fit of laughter. “You remind me of a lion with how much hair you’ve got.”

Well that was unexpected. I feel the same pang of nostalgia I did just a few minutes ago, how is it she knows what a lion is? And why is it less annoying to hear such comments from her than it was to hear from my generals? “I’m aware of this, though I’m surprised you know what a lion is.”

“You know what they are too? I thought they only existed on earth! Guess I have a lot to learn about the universe.”

“It’s funny you say that, though. My old generals would comment the same way about my bed hair. They often called me “lion king” of all things.”

“I love that movie!” (Y/n) blurts out, but then covers her mouth. “Sorry..that’s the name of one of my favorite movies. I think the nickname suits you, since you’re a future king.”

“Emperor, actually.”

“Same thing.” She then shrugs and returns to the main subject at hand. “Since you found the clothes easy enough you should be able to find a brush. There should be one inside one of the little drawers at the top.”

“Thank you. I’ll be right back then.” I nod before returning up the stairs to my room. The brush is right where she said it would be, and it looks to be thankfully the same as what I use.

As I turn to go back downstairs I’m startled again by the smaller creature, who now was sitting in the doorway and staring at me with large eyes. “You’re quite sneaky aren’t you?”

As I walk towards it, it backs up and out of my way, going ahead of me down the stairs and back to (Y/n). “That one is very sneaky.” I say, pointing to the small furry thing at her feet.

“Oh! You’ve met Tyler! Yeah he’s a sneaky bastard.” She says, leaning down to pet him. He leans up to her touch, nuzzling into her hand as she scratches the top of his head. “He’s a cat, they’re very quiet when they move. Stealthy for hunting.”

“A predator?”

“Yeah, but not to humans, or many other things. Just to small plant eating animals like birds or mice. Same with dogs. Humans are at the top of the food chain here! While some animals can harm us or kill us, none hunt us specifically.”

I feel relieved that this planet is not as dangerous as I had feared. With humans being the top predators, it makes being stuck here a little easier. (Y/n) seems a little nervous as she asks me a question. “So..do you need help taming that tangled mane of yours?”

“Oh, no, I can handle this just fine.” I say, taking a seat on the soft looking bench she has in her living room, begging the struggle of brushing through my hair. (Y/n) sits across from me in a single chair, twiddling her thumbs as the silence between us continues. She watches me work through the tangles in what looks like amazement and curiosity, it almost makes me nervous.

“So uh..when you’re done, would you like to meet my other animals?” I do remember her mentioning a third name last night, but the plural of animals implies she has more than just one other animal.

“I suppose we could.” I say, grunting as I come to a particularly stubborn knot. “Though I do wish to go to that junkyard you mentioned. I want to get my ship fixed as quickly as I can.”

“Oh! Right right.” She laughs nervously, she must have forgotten. “Well they aren’t open today actually..it’s a Sunday and it’s already two in the afternoon. The junkyard is also an hour away so we’d need to leave pretty early so you’d have time to look through everything before they close. They always close early.” She is ranting again, guess it’s a habit of hers. It makes me wonder if it’s part of that ADHD she mentioned.

There goes a day lost, wish she would have said something last night. We will have to plan better. Looks like today is going to be spent learning about this planet, may as well if I’m going to be stuck here for a few months. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about the time here on earth. I’m aware of the terms morning, afternoon, and evening, but the time is..confusing. What is pm?”

“Oh! Uh...actually I don’t know. It’s just a way to tell whether it’s morning or afternoon. Noon, or twelve pm, is the exact middle of the day, and midnight, twelve am, is the middle of the night. The numbers go from one to twelve. There is military time that spans the full 24 hours, though it’s all confusing honestly..”

I commit this to my memory, despite what she says, it seems simple enough. “I woke up rather late then.”

“Yeah, I usually wake up with the sun so I can feed my animals and water all my plants.”

She’s quite responsible, that’s good to know. I take all these mental notes, studying her twitches and fidgets, finding it all to be quite fascinating. She’s so similar, yet so different. “How many animals do you own if I might ask.”

(Y/n) takes a moment to count on her fingers and I curse being suddenly distracted by another troublesome knot. “Six! One dog, one cat, two horses, and two chickens!”

Horses and chickens, I try to imagine what those could look like. Possibly more furry creatures like what Tyler and Brutus are, but they could have scales. So many possibilities. Are they bigger? Possibly rideable? Or perhaps they are smaller than the cat creature. This world is becoming more and more fascinating to me the more I learn.

I run my hands through my now detangled hair and sigh softly in relief. “Well, let’s go meet them then.”

(Y/n) jumps from her chair with an excited squeak and pulls me up from my seat, though she seems to regret it and let’s go of me, drawing back. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to..”

I wave my hands to try and reassure her, she sure does apologize a lot. “It’s alright. You’re much stronger than I thought you were, so I was only surprised.”

(Y/n) still looks guilty, but she doesn’t comment further on it and silently leads me outside through a back door. (Y/n) opens the door and gestures for me to walk outside first. It feels weird- especially now that I know she’s a female- I should be doing that for her. I let it slide and bow a thank you to her, walking into what feels like a different world entirely.

Instead of sand and bland yellows and oranges, the ground is green and covered in flowers. There’s a big pool of water in the center of it all, two other buildings rest off to the sides of the pool, leaning against the fence that surrounds it all. Contained within the fence are four new creatures. Two of which are tall and walk on four legs, while the other two are much smaller, stalking around on two thin legs and covered in what look like feathers. I spy Brutus panting in the shade of the oddly shaped trees- at least I think they’re trees- watching the other animals like a guard.

“This is very interesting. Why is it that this little area is green while the rest of the area is a bland yellow?” I look around the area beyond the fence, not surprised to find the same sight I remember seeing.

“I live in an oasis, it’s basically a special plot of land that has water and greenery in the desert. If I’m honest, I never looked up why.”

“Interesting..” Earth looks even more barren in the daylight, it’s a wonder things survive out here at all. I realize that I’m completely barefoot when my foot comes in contact with the scorching hot ground and I quickly find my way to a shaded area to save my skin. (Y/n) laughs and retreats into the house, claiming she’d be right back. I sigh and examine the creatures around me more carefully, Brutus eyeing me from the other side of the fenced off area. I ignore him for now and study the larger creatures. _I wonder if those are the chickens..they look like they could be ridden._ I think to myself and carefully make my way over to one of them that was sticking to the shade. It is all black, like the dog, and looking right at me with striking blue eyes.

I walk as close as I dare before it makes a sound of it blowing air through its lips and shakes its neck. I’m not sure what kind of display that is, but I don’t move any further, and wait instead for (Y/n) to come back.

It doesn’t take her long, and she drops something at my feet. “Here. They’re flip flops, for your feet. That way you don’t get burned anymore.”

I look at them weirdly, not understanding how they are supposed to go on my feet until I see how she is wearing them. She has on a similar pair, only they are much smaller. I wonder for a moment if they will fit, but considering I found fitting clothes, I take a gamble and fiddle with them until they’re on. They’re not the most comfortable footwear, but they do provide a layer between my feet and the ground.

“Perfect!” She says with a smile before walking up to the large black creature and petting its neck. “I saw you eyeing ole Shadow here. Don’t worry, he won’t bite if you keep your hands away from his mouth.”

I’m still cautious as I reach out to Shadow, placing my hand on his neck. He’s covered in short, soft hairs that feel almost like my own. “Is this a chicken?”

(Y/n) snorts and shakes her head with an amused smile on her face. “No, he’s a horse.”

“Ah. You seem to have a lot of male animals, are all the animals on this planet male?”

“Oh no. You just happened to meet all my boys before my girls.” She then whistles and another horse trots over in a dainty way, almost as if it were dancing. This one looks as if it were splashed with two different colors of paint, brown and white splotches covering its body from head to...foot. It doesn’t have toes. Its eyes are two different colors as well, one being a dark brown while the other is a pale blue. “This here is my girl Oakley. She’s my horse.”

“She looks very pretty.” I approach cautiously as Oakley leans forward, sniffing at my arm before sneezing on me. I rear back in disgust and wipe the snot against my pant leg so it isn’t seeping into my skin. All the while (Y/n) is cackling. “I retract my statement, she is disgusting.”

“Oh come on, she just sneezed. Can you control when you sneeze?”

She has a point. “No. But I think I will stick with Shadow.”

“Just be careful with him, he’s a bit wild. I haven’t been able to ride him for quite some time.”

So horses can be ridden, a good thing to know. Though it seems that Oakley may be too small for someone of my size, Shadow on the other hand is much bigger. Her statement is confusing, however. Wild from not being ridden? “What do you mean?”

“Well...horses need to be ridden often after they’ve been broken, that is their spirit, not physically. They’re wild animals, and will become wild again if they aren’t ridden enough.” She almost seems ashamed of the statement, as if it were a bad thing.

“I see..why is it that you haven’t been able to ride him?” I feel as though I may be asking too many questions, but (Y/n) has yet to ask me to stop, and my curiosity of this world and this human are ever growing.

“Ever since my brother..” she hesitates, biting her lip for a half a second. “..left, he won’t even let me get a saddle on him. I’ve almost been kicked by him for trying, so I just leave him alone.”

My curiosity peaks, she has a family. Well of course she would, why wouldn’t she? However this brother of hers seems to be a sensitive subject. Her mood has changed from being bubbly and smiling to a straight face, focused only on slowly petting Oakley. It’s worrying. Something bad must have happened, but it is not my place to pry, so I look for a clean way to change the subject. “Well what about the chickens? Those are the small two legged creatures, yes?”

(Y/n) seems to perk up slightly at the subject change, putting on a smile that seems a little forced. “Yes! They’re over here.” She leads the way to two small structures that look similar to her house, but only one very small room each.

“What are those? Do the chickens live there?”

“You’re correct!” The human turns back to me with one of the chickens in her arms. It’s all white with small black eyes. “This here is Chansey. She’s one of the chickens.”

Chansey looks around at nothing in particular, her eyes unmoving in her head. She makes a strange cooing sound, settling her gaze on me for a small moment before looking elsewhere. “She seems rather distracted.”

“That’s just how chickens are. Do you wanna hold her?” (Y/n) extends the chicken out to me, the small creature rocks in her shaky hands, but otherwise doesn’t seem to move.

“Uh...sure?” I hold my arms out and feel the softness of Chansey as she’s placed in the space they make. “Oh. She’s quite soft.”

“Yeah, she’s also the most mellow. Penny however isn’t so calm.” She gestures to a brown chicken who is much larger than Chansey, staring directly at us from her perch on a stump. “She barely lets me hold her on a good day.”

“I see...I guess I’ve met all your animals now, correct? Penny makes six.”

“Yup! That’s all of them. You’re officially acquainted with all the members of the house.” (Y/n) raises her arms above her head in a dramatic fashion before dropping them again to her sides. “The next thing I should do is get you some better clothes. Those old pajamas are probably the only things that fit you huh?”

“Yes, most things in the wardrobe and dresser were far too small.” Chansey makes a cooing noise in my arms as I speak, drawing my attention for a moment.

“I could probably go shopping for you tonight, that way you have something comfortable to wear. It will probably take till later tonight, though, since the nearest town is nearly an hour out.”

“Could I come with you?” My mouth moves before I have a chance to control what I say, my own curiosity of this planet getting the better of me. (Y/n) doesn’t seem to be too affected by it.

“Well..no. If I walked around town with a big purple man with pointy elf ears, people would ask a lot of questions...”

“If my appearance is a problem, that’s something I can change.”

(Y/n) looks at me with with eyes the size of moons. “You can what now?! Show me!”

At least her excitement is back. I gently set Chansey down and close my eyes to focus. The only thing I’ve ever been able to change is the color of my skin, but I feel that may be enough. When I open my eyes again, (Y/n) is noticeably redder in the cheeks than before. “How do I look?”

“Strangely human..” she says, giving me a once over with her eyes. “Though your ears are still kinda noticeable..”

“I’ve only ever been able to change the color of my skin...is there something you can use to fix it?”

(Y/n) ponders with her finger on her chin, her eyes flicking between both of my ears. I’m locked in a strange silence before she snaps her fingers. “Why didn’t I see this sooner! Just have your hair cover your ears instead of tucking it back.”

That’s something I’ve never done before, the concept itself sounding like it means offense. I was taught to keep my hair behind my ears for so long - reinforced by slaps of a ruler - that when I move my hair, I nearly flinch.

However, the human looks pleased by my appearance, evident by her bright smile. “Perfect! We’ll just have to be careful about it.”

I have to resist the urge to pull my hair back as she leads me back inside and out the front door. She takes me to what she calls her truck and seats me in the passenger seat. I have to hunch in order to fit and (Y/n) lets out a string of apologies that I quickly silence. This is going to be a long trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters should be longer from now on! I already have 10k words written with more to come, I'm excited!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long to be updated! I recently went cranking (which for non military personnel, I have essentially become the ship's cooks' bitch) so my schedule is a bit wack. We recently came back from a 1 month underway and I have spent most of my time sleeping and playing dnd and/or smash bros and Tales of Vesperia. I'm just hoping things aren't too inconsistent or confusing. ^^;
> 
> Thank you all for the nice comments and Kudos! Don't worry, this will be continued, it will just take a while because of working on a ship with little to no internet, little to no time to write, and writers block is a bitch. So please have patience!
> 
> Enjoy the chapter! :D (This is where the references start ;P)

The drive to the town is indeed long, however (Y/n) provides music to ward away any awkward silences that may arise. There’s no conversation between us, though I can hear another voice along with the music. It only takes the turn of my head to see that the human is singing along, her voice soft, but talented and in tune. She takes notice that I’m watching her and silences herself. “Sorry..I like this song..”

“You apologize so much for things you haven’t done wrong..why is that?”

She looks dumbfounded at the road ahead of us, silence engulfing us yet again. She looks as if she’s searching for her words in the sand outside. “Well I...I don’t know. I guess it’s just habit. Most people would find the things I do to be annoying, so I just got used to apologizing.”

“I don’t find the things you do annoying.” My words seem to make her tense, her grip tightening on the wheel making her knuckles turn almost white. Perhaps I said the wrong thing?

“Am I really not annoying to you..?”

“On the contrary, you’re fascinating to me. You’re an entirely new species, so your customs and..well basically everything about you is new to me. I love the things you’re teaching me and the offhanded things I learn from just being around you. Please don’t feel the need to apologize for something so simple as singing.” I hope I can ease her nerves this way. She has grown on me in such a short time, but perhaps it’s just my desire to learn. Can’t learn very well from a nervous teacher.

I watch as her fingers slowly return to their normal color, however her cheeks grow redder like they did when I first transformed. “I..thank you..the only other person who ever said something like that to me was my brother.”

“Your brother was wise then.”

“No..just kind..” she seems to be much calmer now, if not slightly sullen, though this time it seems her happiness is much greater. Her eyes are sparkling and there’s a smile playing on the corner of her lips. It brings a small smile to my own; I’ve said the right thing after all. 

It’s not long after that I start to see what could be our destination in the distance. More structures not unlike (Y/n)’s house, though some are vastly different. “Is this the town?”

“Yes! Welcome to Dragon Roost Village. Pretty cool name huh?”

“It is rather interesting...though what is a dragon? Assuming dragon roost is not something entirely different.”

“Only the greatest mythological creature ever to exist on the history of the planet! They’re big fire breathing winged lizards! Magical creatures of incredible strength and speed. Some could breathe more than fire too, ice or lightning even!”

What an interesting sounding creature. Come to think of it, I remember seeing some winged serpent creatures with legs and horns around her house. Perhaps those are what she’s talking about. “I see. They do sound interesting.”

“Yeah, and there's all different kinds! Sadly they don’t exist..but maybe that’s for the better.”

“Suppose so. A giant flying fire breathing creature wouldn’t be the easiest thing to fight.” I say, nodding thoughtfully.

“Yeah. We’d all be doomed.” She says in agreement.

(Y/n) parks in a lot next to one of the buildings labeled “Marie’s Clothing and Accessories,” a much larger building compared to (Y/n)’s house, however it’s about the same size as most of the others in town.

“Before we go in, we need to get our story straight. The accent you have is very similar to one we have on earth. For everyone who asks, you’re a friend visiting from London, England. The only reason we’re getting you clothes is because the plane lost your suitcase.”

“Did you think of all this on the way?” I ask after taking a moment to commit the story to my memory.

“Well some of it..a majority I’ve actually been thinking of since you mentioned wanting to go to the junkyard. Everyone knows everyone here, so a new face will probably be questioned.” She reaches for the door, but stops short and turns back to me. “And don’t be afraid to look at me if you’re not sure how to respond to something, or act shy. People will understand.”

“(Y/n),” I gently place my hand on hers to quiet her rambling. My suspicions are confirmed from this simple touch, she’s incredibly nervous, shaking like a leaf, though she tenses at the contact. “It will be fine. I’m not careless.”

She slowly stops shaking, my words seeming to get through to her as she visibly relaxes. “Okay...I trust you.”

There’s something about hearing her say that, but I can’t put my finger on how it affects me. She trusts me so willingly? I don’t have time to dwell on this, though, for she removes her hand and exits the truck. I open my side and follow her inside the store.

We’re met with a rather peppy girl with hair almost as white as my own, a pink ribbon tied around her head in a bow. She skips her way over to us at the tinkling of the door’s bell and hugs (Y/n) with a squeal. “(Y/n), (Y/n), (Y/n)! How’s my favorite little sailor? (Sailor? What is that?) Come to finally try on those dresses?” She has the same accent as me, however hers is lighter.

“Sorry, Marie, not today. I’m here with a friend!” (Y/n) gestures to me as she speaks. It looks as though Marie has just now registered my presence, she cuts my greeting off with a sudden gasp of shock.

“Woah! He’s with you?! You gotta give me the details!” She doesn’t give (Y/n) a chance to speak before she steps in front of me and holds out her hand. “I’m Marie! (Y/n)’s best friend and owner of the store!”

I smile sincerely as I shake her rather small hand. “Lotor. Pleasure to meet you. I’m visiting (Y/n) from London, England. Unfortunately my bags got lost on the plane, so I am in need of clothes.” I follow our story just as I remember, hoping it sounds believable.

It seems to work; Marie puffs out her cheeks in what looks like disgust. She looks back at (Y/n) with the turn of her head. “Well that explains why he’s wearing Marco’s clothes.”

(Y/n) visibly tenses at the name before quickly relaxing again. I’ll have to ask her about this Marco later, but I will have to be cautious, it seems like a sensitive topic. Perhaps that’s the name of her brother, she always seemed slightly rattled whenever her brother came up in conversation before.

“Think you can get him something that will fit?”

“I believe I have just the thing! Come with me.” Marie takes us back by some curtained off areas and digs around in the circle racks nearby. She pulls out three different shirts on hangers before returning to us. She holds one of the shirts up before nodding with apparent satisfaction before handing them off to me. “Before you try those on, let me get you some pants to go with them.” She dashes off to one side of the store where half the wall is covered with shelves of pants.

“She’s quite the character.” I say, carefully adjusting the shirts in my hands.

“She is. She’s the one I can trust the most in this town.” There’s an undertone of sadness to her voice, as if she’s troubled by this. I don’t get the chance to question this before she changes the subject. “When we’re done here, we’ll get something to eat. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

I hadn’t realized my hunger till now. When was the last time I’ve eaten? A growl in my stomach pulls me from my thoughts and a laugh out of the human. “Some food would be appreciated.”

“We can head to the diner once we’re done.” She gives my bare arm a gentle pat, sending an electric spark through my skin. I’m confused by this, wondering if it was just static electricity, however she appears to have felt nothing as her arm falls back to her side.

Marie returns with three different pairs of pants, shoving them into my hands on top of the shirts. “Alright! Give us a fashion show!”

I’m nudged through the curtains before I can speak and hear the girls giggle just outside. Well this is awkward. I’m in a very small room now, two wall hooks decorate one side as a mirror occupies the other side. A bench rests bolted to the free wall. How do they expect me to change with only a curtain for protection? I guess by earth standards this must be acceptable, so I take a deep breath and begin to change.

“Hot and foreign? How’d you snag him?” That sounds like Marie. She’s whispering, but it’s not hard to hear her between my sensitive ears and the thin curtain.

“Shh! He’s just a friend I swear! We met online like a year ago.”

“Yeah, and my bow is yellow. He’s staying at your place for how long? And you let him wear Marco’s clothes? He’s something special.”

“...I guess..”

“You’re taking a big risk, though, darling, letting him stay with you for a while like this. You might know his online persona, but not what he’s like in real life. He could be dangerous.”

“I don’t think so..but I’ll call you if anything goes down.”

“That’s my girl!”

A breathy chuckle escapes me as I listen. Their banter lasted long enough for me to slip into the first outfit, one that looks quite nice on me. It fits perfectly as well, if my once over in the mirror is anything to go by. I pull back the curtain to show the girls, Marie squeaking while (Y/n) remains quiet. “They’re perfect on you! Go try the others now.”

(Y/n) doesn’t have any verbal reaction, but her cheeks are visibly redder. She nods in agreement to Marie’s statement.

After showing off the other two outfits, Marie tells me to pick my favorite to wear out and takes (Y/n) to pay. I decide on the first outfit, since (Y/n) seemed to like it the most, and hold the other two in my arms.

Once all is paid for, we say our goodbyes and return to the truck. “Just put your stuff inside, the diner is within walking distance.”

I nod and place my new clothes and Marco’s away in the truck before returning to (Y/n)’s side. She begins the walk to the diner rather silently, and I debate if I should ask her about Marco.  _ It is rather risky...every time the name has come up she seems to put up a new wall. But...this silence is deafening between us...I think I’ll take that risk, just once. _

I take a moment to clear my throat, shattering the silence and drawing her attention. “So..who’s Marco?”

She visibly flinches, seeming to shrink into herself. Perhaps I should have waited till we were back at her home to bring this up. “He...was my brother.”

“Was?” She falls silent again, only increasing my curiosity for just what happened to her brother.

A rather tense and awkward silence follows us like a ghost all the way to the diner.

The ghost is chased away as soon as the door opens with a pleasant jingle. The smiling face of a mustached man greets us from behind the counter. “Ah, (Y/n), good to see you. Who’s your friend?”

“Hey Hank! This is Lotor, he’s a friend of mine from London.” (Y/n) gestures to me and then to the man. “Lotor, this is Hank. Him and his family run the diner.”

“Yep. Just me and my boy Connor. Go ahead and take your spot, he’ll be out in a moment.”

(Y/n) waves for me to follow as she leads me to a booth by a window overlooking the vast expanse of sand. I sit across from her and she passes me a menu. A slightly panicked look crosses her face as she looks from me to the menu. “You can read right?”

I feel like in any other situation, I would take that as an insult, however here it is a valid question. I look over the menu for a moment before nodding. “Yes, I can read this just fine.”  _ Though I have no idea what any of these are. Waffle? Milkshake?  _ “Uh..what do you recommend?”

“Well I usually get-“

“Blueberry pancakes with extra whipped cream and a (f/flavor) milkshake?” A brown haired man, looking to be about (Y/n)’s age, interrupts us with a notepad and pen in hand. A warm and friendly smile adorns his lips and an apron is tied neatly around his waist. (Y/n) seems to melt at the sight of him, the same warm smile on her face.

“Connor! You know me so well.”

“Well it is the only thing you order regardless of the time of day.” Connor teases with a roll of his brown eyes.

“Hey! Sometimes I get other things!”

“Okay, then would you like something different?”

(Y/n) hesitates. “No..”

“Thought so.” Connor bears a triumphant grin as he scribbled on his notepad. “Are you ready to order sir or are you still looking?”

“I think I will just try what she’s having. I’ve never had blueberry pancakes.” I return the menu to (Y/n) and watch as Connor makes another scribble.

“Well, my good sir, you are in for a treat! I make these special for little miss (Y/n) here.” (Y/n) cheeks turn a bright red at the nickname. “Can’t get them anywhere else.” Connor ruffles (Y/n)’s hair before turning on his heels. “Be back with those milkshakes.”

(Y/n)’s blush fills her whole face up to her ears and she muffles a squeal. It takes her a least a few ticks to get back in order and I raise a brow in question. “What’s wrong?”

“Sorry I just...” she starts, looking around quickly before leaning in and lowering her voice. “I have the biggest crush on him.

Those words seem to crash down on me like an avalanche.  _ She already has a crush. Wait, why should I care? I just barely met her, I can’t be having feelings for her already, could I? _

_ Could I...? _

I internally shake the feeling away and nod slowly. “I see. Does he have a crush on you too? He certainly seems affectionate towards you.”

“No...he only sees me as a sister. But hey, at least he doesn’t hate me.”

“Why would he?”

(Y/n) seems hesitant to answer. “Well...it’s common for people to. They have all my life. It was hard to make friends when I was younger and it still is.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don’t hate you.” Looks like that was the right thing to say; she’s smiling again.

“I’d hope so, you’re stuck with me for a while.”

“Indeed I am.” Connor comes back with a tray in his hand, placing down two large glass cups and two silver ones of about the same size.

(Y/n) is quick to start sipping it down, earning a chuckle from Connor. “Careful, you’ll get a-“ he’s cut off by a pained squeak as (Y/n) holds her head. “...brain freeze.”

“Are you alright?” (Y/n) nods in response, breathing carefully as she slowly recovers.

“Don’t make the same mistake. Shit hurts.” She says and sighs heavily as she takes a much slower sip.

I take a cautious sip of my own, a pleasant rush of sweetness hitting my taste buds. “Woah. This is amazing!”

The two before me seem satisfied with my answer. “Connor makes the best in the world! Don’t you?”

Connor shyly scratches the back of his head. “Come on, I’m sure there’s someone better at it.”

“Not that I’ve had.”

“That’s true...you’ve been almost all around the world after all.”

“Exactly!” (Y/n) seems to win that discussion and goes back to sipping her milkshake.

Connor sighs softly and pats her head. It almost seems like a sad gesture. “I’ll go start on those pancakes.” He then returns to the back room.

We’re left in silence for a few moments before I speak up. “You’ve been all around the world?”

“Well...Yeah I guess. I was in the Navy for a good 10 years. It’s one of our military branches.”

“You’re a soldier?” She just keeps surprising me.

“Was. And not a soldier, a sailor. I worked on ships and went basically everywhere.”

“So that’s why Marie called you a sailor.”

“Yup! It’s basically like a nickname for Navy personnel.”

“I see.” I nod and sip my milkshake thoughtfully. “10 years...” I try to translate that to my terminology. It seems like it would be quite a long time, however she still seems young. It seems like decophebes is the closest I’ll get.

“Yeah..I would have stayed longer but..” she doesn’t finish and just shakes her head. “Nevermind.”

She has so many troubled secrets, and every part of me wants to draw them out. For now, though, I resist. She’s not ready to tell me, and it’s not my business. As much as I’d love to pick her brain and learn everything there is to know, she has to be ready to tell me. I distract myself with a large sip of my milkshake, earning a worried look that turns to surprise. “What?”

“Do you not get brain freezes?”

I’d completely forgotten till now and look down in my surprise. “Guess I don’t.”

“You lucky bastard.” She taps my leg with her shoe, flashing me a bright grin. “Enjoy that gift of yours.”

We return to a pleasant silence, much better than the one we shared not too long ago. A very sweet smell fills the area, gracing my senses with its delightful scent. “What is that heavenly smell?”

“Pancakes!” The human is openly excited, bouncing eagerly as the smell gets more potent. It’s almost making me dizzy.

Connor returns to us with two plates of that beautiful aroma, placing them in front of us. The plate held two large beige disks with an enormous amount of white fluffy something. Little blue dots sprinkle the disks on what I could see under the white fluff. “Go ahead, take a bite. I wanna see your reaction.” Connor says with a gesture to the fork and knife by the plate.

I pick them up and cut a small piece from the disk. The different flavors I’m met with send a shiver down my spine. I have no idea what my expression is, but it seems to please the two humans.

“Eat up buttercup.” Connor messes with (Y/n)’s hair once again before returning to the back room. (Y/n)’s face turns red once more, a soft mutter of “That’s a new one..” escaping her lips before she quickly starts to eat. Probably to distract herself.

I too need a distraction, so I follow suit. It doesn’t take long for out plates to be cleared. (Y/n) pats her stomach with a happy sigh before she pulls a red card out of some kind of holder.

“Wait here, I’ll be right back.” I watch her leave and go up to the counter, chatting with Hank as he swipes the card across something and returns it to her. Eventually she returns with a smile. “Okay! Now I need to go pick up a few things, so we need to go to the store.”

I get up from my seat and follow her out. The walk to the store is short, just across the street from the diner. “So what do you need to get?”

“Some dog food, cereal and milk, and maybe some veggies.” (Y/n) grabs a basket and carries it in the crook of her elbow. She leads me all around the store, grabbing more than what she had mentioned. By the end of it, she’s struggling. “Would you like some help?”

She looks up at me with determined eyes. “I can do it.” The large bag of dog food starts slipping from her arms and I catch it before it hits the ground.

“I think you could use a hand.”

She puffs out her cheeks. “Fine..you can help..”

I chuckle softly, adjusting the bag in my arms as we go to the check out. (Y/n) pays for the items and I take half of the bags. The walk back to the truck seems longer with the weight of everything, but eventually we reach our destination. (Y/n) opens the back of her truck and we place the groceries inside. With a slam, she closes the back and we climb into the front.

As we drive home, the music from before fills the silence. I listen to (Y/n)’s soft voice, the harmony it creates with the singer in the recording is quite literally music to my ears.

**Author's Note:**

> This is experimental, so please tell me what you think! This is my first x Reader as well.
> 
> Updates will vary depending on my schedule, being that I'm actually in the military myself, so my schedule is always changing. I will try to update as much and as often as I can!


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